Banned Books at DSU

Did you know that in 1973 the school system of Drake burned Slaughterhouse Five as obscene? Or that just a few years ago, in 2009, the Beulah school board banned Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?

Rita Ennen, director of library services at Stoxen Library, and I decided to take a stand against such censorship by sponsoring a Celebration of Banned Books on the campus of Dickinson State University. This celebration, inspired by the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week, included six events over a two-week period in mid-September.

The celebration began on Sept. 17 with a panel discussion about the First Amendment and freedom of speech. The panel, moderated by DSU political science professor Steven Doherty, featured Jack McDonald, an attorney in Bismarck; Christine Kujawa, chair of the Intellectual Freedom committee of the North Dakota Library Association; and Kathy Cline, librarian from Beulah public schools.

In addition to a general discussion about the importance of the First Amendment in a free society, the panel discussed specific incidents in which books have been challenged in North Dakota, including the decision to remove Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil from the Beulah School Library following complaints from parents.

Suzanne Russ, an associate professor of psychology, said that she found the panel very informative, adding that it “offered a fascinating discussion and first-hand account of the powerful stance librarians quietly assume in defense of our rights to choose our own reading materials.”

The second week of Banned Books featured five events: three read outs, in which DSU faculty, staff, and students read from banned books, and two book discussions. The first book discussion, hosted by DSU assistant professors Kathy Hanna and Renae Ekstrand, covered The Call of the Wild and a selection of children’s books, while the second, hosted by Ms. Ennen, covered Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Ms. Ekstrand said that the Celebration of Banned Books was a valuable experience, for it demonstrated “that learning occurs outside the classroom as well as within on our campus.” She added, “It is always exciting to see community members, students, and faculty come together in the audience as well.”

To promote the celebration, Stoxen Library sponsored a contest for students to design the poster for the event. Out of the 50 entries, judges selected a first place (won by Kira Haag) and the library’s patrons voted for a people’s choice (won by Delano Lilly).

Ms. Ennen said that she was very pleased at how well the campus received the celebration. “The student poster contest and display were an especially enjoyable added dimension,” she said. “It was also gratifying to have participation from members of the local community for most of the events.”

The DSU community embraced the Celebration of Banned Books with such enthusiasm that Ms. Ennen and I plan to make it an annual event.